Equivocation
by katiekitten
Summary: Of uncertain significance: not determined. Deitobi. Oneshot. Hell yeah, I'm back. x3 A christmas tribute... Of sorts.


_**equivocacy**_

_It is not always what is _**said**_ that is important, but that which is _**not**

An uncharacteristic silence stretched across the almost empty studio, the slight ruffle and occasional slap the only disturbance of the hushed, slight rasping sound of joined breathing. Slim fingered hands worked affectionately through ash white clay, their owner hunching over the small table, roughly tied hair slipping in a dull blond arc down his shoulders.

"Deidara-Sempai?"

The figure paused, hands wrist deep in clay as he grunted softly in acknowledgement, not bothering to raise his gaze as he studied the half formed bird before him. Eyebrows furrowing as he spotted a possibly fatal flaw in the birds design, he extended a precise finger, carefully dabbing it at the structure with the ease of long practise. Allowing himself a small smirk of satisfaction as the disaster (both personal and literal) was averted, he straightened slightly, hands and sharp, blue gaze never leaving the sculptures quickly elongating neck.

"Deidara."

Frowning irritably at being disrupted again, Deidara dragged his eyes away and up, flickering quickly across the room before he was able to pinpoint the source of his problems- an immature, yet infuriatingly taller than him shadow leaning against one of the far walls, the sun's dying rays casting their dim light over the garish, orange mask that identified it as his partner.

A fact that he was not at all pleased about.

"Yes?" The question came out as an irritated hiss, but he welcomed it, locking his gaze with the eye he_ knew_ was beneath the mask in a silent glare. Tobi remained impassive, bizarrely solemn for once. Deidara didn't care to study the disappointment he felt at such a reaction.

Frowning at the silence that greeted his question, he carefully removed his hands from the sculpture and twisted to see the boy fully, fingers tapping impatiently on the concrete floor.

"Tobi, hmm?"

"I…" A muffled, oddly… strained voice spoke up from beneath the mask, before fading into a (was it disappointed?) silence, the orange mask still faced unfaltering towards him. His frown deepened at his partner's uneasiness (if anything by now the boy should _know_ how much he _hated_ beating around the bush) and he resisted the urge to sigh, fingers itching to return to his half-finished and quickly drying work of art.

"Tobi, what on earth are you-"

An abrupt movement; his frown eased at the sight- only to redouble in confusion as his partner, instead of launching himself into a full on rant about the injustice of un-acknowledged potential, instead levered himself from the wall and stepped lightly forward. Deidara watched him with cautious surprise, eyebrows pursing slightly as, to his astonishment, he walked straight past him and through the open door, shutting it gently behind him with a murmured 'nevermind."

The blond blinked in surprise, watching the unresponsive door for a few seconds before returning troubled, unseeing eyes back to his artwork. Time slipped past slowly once more as his fingers gradually delved back into clay again, and he continued his work in silence.

End.

**Woot for ambiguous and unfulfilling stories. The feeling is intentional. You wanted secrets? You got secrets, Eju. x3**

(_a monstrosity, a pathetic excuse – how he longed to break in within his grasp, feel it crumble through his fingers like the clay beneath his hands-)_

**The ending result of an altogether all too late night. The reason why this has come out so strained is because I haven't written in ages, and I had a lot of difficulty beating back my metal writing block. (That I'm rubbish, I OOC the characters, the usual.) But. I got it done. And it got easier as I went along. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed it in some skewed sense of the word.**

(_and time keeps on passing, the clay once moist to touch now brushing harshly against his skin, lost art, _wasted_ art_)

**A quick explanation was the overall unfinished tone of this piece – it's because the story is unfinished. Not the physical story, of course, this is a oneshot and will stay like that, but what is going on inside it. We know as much as Deidara knows, and he would feel like he'd missed something, like there was more to this story than he knew. Which there is. But you can fill in the blanks. X3**

**Not your usual fluff, -not by a long shot-, but something nevertheless. My contribution to the Christmas season. xD;;**


End file.
